50 Years of MIDEM

via Billboard: On Cannes’ famed boulevard and beyond, memories of promising talent, exquisite meals and faking it in French.

“MIDEM FAIR: A VITAL LINK for Exchange,” read a front-page headline in the Feb. 11, 1967, issue of Billboard, which predicted that the music conference in Cannes “is here to stay.”

Billboard was right. Marking its 50th anniversary June 3-6, MIDEM has endured and thrived. It began as a key marketplace for deals - largely among independent labels and music publishers - that sent recordings and repertoire around the world long before multinational companies dominated the music business.

MIDEM “was the gathering place for everyone in music publishing before the advent of the Internet,” recalls Martin Bandier, chairman/CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a veteran of the event. Click on the link below to read more…